Neda lists 7 crucial economic issues for 6 years

IN order for the economy to be able to create more jobs and curb poverty, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the Aquino administration will address at least seven major macroeconomic issues in the next six years.

In a statement, Neda Director General Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., also the Socioeconomic Planning secretary, told Mindanao exporters these seven issues are weak exports due to poor competitiveness, low capital investments, low consumer and business confidence, low investment in human capital, high unemployment rate, poor access to credit in the countryside, and the impact of climate change.

“Some changes need to take place so that the country can get to a higher growth path that, hopefully, could be sustained in the next few years. The traditional sources of growth, which are investments and exports, would still be the main drivers, coupled with the implementation of the core program of the President on good governance, reducing red tape and eliminating corruption,” said Paderanga in a statement sent to the Neda Regional Development Office in Davao.

Paderanga said the administration also aims to address the high cost of doing business and ensuring infrastructure support to improve the overall business climate and in integrating markets and financial and credit sources to improve access by businesses.

Every effort will be made, he said, to improve revenue collection and fund-use efficiency, and increase investments for health, education and social services as well as creating social-safety nets to support vulnerable sectors.

He also reiterated the President’s goal of resolving the conflict in Mindanao by peaceful means. This, in turn, will improve and unleash economic opportunities in Mindanao.

“The Aquino Administration’s foremost goal is to create employment opportunities for many Filipinos in order to significantly reduce poverty. To respond to this, the government has adopted the overall framework of inclusive growth, which involves spreading benefits of economic growth to all, as its means for the attainment of sustained and high economic growth,” he said.

“We will equalize access to development opportunities across geographic areas and across different income and social spectra. We will try to integrate the economy further. This will ensure that expansion of employment opportunities translates and reverberates toward poverty reduction,” he added.

Earlier, Paderanga said that despite the odds, government aims to achieve and sustain an economic growth rate of around 7 percent to 8 percent starting next year until President Aquino ends his term in 2016.

He said the government also aims to achieve a gross national product of 9 percent to 10 percent. –Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter, BUsinessmirror